I knew that Florian and I were in for a great Shamrock Tour® when I woke to the softly layered Appalachian mountains stretching out in front of our hotel, with a twisting two-lane highway cutting an inviting path between them. Four days later, parking our Harley-Davidsons for the last time as the sun slid toward the mountains and lit the valley with its last golden rays, I felt the satisfaction of knowing I had been right. We had once more found fantastic roads, friendly people, and an assortment of fun restaurants and coffee shops where we could fuel up or cool off along the way.

Guided by a symphony of commands, the tires of my V-Strom 650 carve graceful arcs along the ribbon of pavement draped at the base of a rock wall. A different type of carving, to be sure, than that of Yellow Creek, whose efforts helped form nearby Cumberland Gap. At the moment, however, I could care less about semantics.

…At 13,123 feet (4,000 meters), we stop to add liners for warmth and sip hot Coca tea. The world that is The Andes transforms before us: the flora and fauna, the native peoples, the texture of the landscape that defines this magnificent mountain range – everything looks majestic here, even with the onslaught of rain and snow. The dunes of the desert, only 37 miles away, seem lifetimes behind us. And we’re only two days into our South American adventure!

The owner slowly scuffles toward the entrance of his café, unlocks the door, and lets us in. Like him, the interior is simple, original and down to earth. Breakfast is the same: a huge pot of coffee, hash browns, bacon and eggs. Eat it or leave it. But something else is provided here in abundance: a great sense of freedom.

I’m just finishing a leisurely 100-mile cruise through California’s Joshua Tree National Park on a late afternoon in April. I head north on Highway 247, and soon after entering this massive OHV area, strong wind gusts from all directions start shoving around my laden, 712-pound Honda Interstate cruiser.

Expectations were high when Christa, the publisher of RoadRUNNER, asked me to put together my favorite route through Europe for her readers. “Great, how much time would they have? Two months? Maybe three?” I asked. “12 days,” was her short and definite response. That’s when it got tricky. Through my travels I have been to all the worthwhile places for motorcycles in Central Europe, and there are many. In 12 days? Impossible. Then I began to give it a second thought.

We have every intention of riding to Alaska someday, but since we aren’t prepared to take that much time off work a ride on the Labrador is calling our names. We chat with our riding buddy Glenn Parker about it, and he says it’s one of those roads every tourer should experience.

When Victory® introduced its newest touring model, a simple intro ride wasn’t enough. To truly appreciate all the Cross Country Tour has to offer we rode almost 1,000 miles through four states for a long distance evaluation. Along the way we encountered every type of road, just like any touring enthusiast would. I even rode to Wisconsin for a Shamrock Tour®, racking up 3,598 miles in less than two weeks. Just call me an editor on the run….

Although the three models in Honda’s Custom sector (Sabre, Interstate and Stateline) are quite similar, each has a specific purpose and personality, and the Interstate is the touring one of the trio. It comes with a windscreen, floorboards, saddlebags and, new this year, an optional ABS/CBS brake system.

When the invitation to ride the new Triumph Tigers first arrived, our initial reaction was that we’d already ridden the bike so what could be happening at this event that we don’t already know? Another piece of the puzzle: It was to be a two-day ride, back to back on both versions of the 800. That created a little more interest. It’s not often that we get to test one manufacturer’s units side by side.